Where are you doing the open water dives? The Keys or up in Cocoa? I did mine at Nubble Light, a light house off the coast of York, Maine, 70' deep right off the rocks but over 100' if you went out just a little bit. Zero visability after about 40' though. We did manage to find a few "Lobsta's" though.

http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/slideshow.jsp?auto=0&aid=768a5498cf3970987a76

Even though it was August and I was wearing a wetsuit, I still froze my azz off! And that was when I was 21, and had thicker blood!

Many years later, the first time I dove in the Keys (Pennekamp park) I thought I had died and gone to dive-heaven! It's like a nice warm swimming pool down there.